Since Then
by Aspirator
Summary: Syaoran finds a way to reconcile with Sakura after their break up.


**Since Then**

TheWanderlust

_Disclaimed_

* * *

><p><strong>Bold - <strong>Singing/Lyrics (Can't Take Away by The Friday Night Boys)

Regular - Present (April 6th)

_Italics - _Past (As indicated)

_Italics and underlined_ - a flashback while in the past (hopefully not as confusing as it seems)

note. Decipher this as you would a music video. I suggest you read the lyrics, too.

* * *

><p><em>February 18th.<em>

_Syaoran Li looked out the floor to ceiling window of his studio, and sighed. Though he had a magnificent view of the city, and it was starting to bustle with morning activity, it still felt cold and empty to him._

_"Syaoran?" came the gentle voice of his drummer, Takashi._

_"Yeah," He replied absentmindedly, catching sight of a store in the distance, the glint of the closed sign flipping to open almost blinded him. He supposes he missed her walking in. He wonders if she was smiling as she usually does. Even if he did see her walking in though, he still wouldn't have been able to tell the expression on her face from this distance. Now he sounds like a stalker - He isn't, by the way. "Right."_

_Turning around to face his bandmates, he held up the papers in his hand, "Let's try something new."_

_"Is this what you were working on that day- was it, Valentine's Day?" Takashi asked innocently, as he settled in his seat, looking over his music sheets._

_"I bet it's about that girl you broke up with a month ago, isn't it?" Ryuu, the sometimes irritating guitarist, stated not-so-innocently._

_"No." Lied Syaoran, shoving the papers in the guitarist's face as he glanced at his manager, Eriol._

_Eriol replied with an enigmatic smile._

_That was all the assurance Syaoran needed. Resuming his position in front of his bandmates, he said, "let's roll."_

**Silence is easy to say this is killing me**

April 6th.

Sakura Kinomoto hummed as she worked, trying to fill the silence. Then she paused in her sewing - of course, she forgot to put the radio on! No wonder it was so quiet. Reaching across pieces of fabric splayed around her work table and her sewing machine, she flicked the switch. In a second, the radio burst to life in the middle of a song.

**I'm sorry you wasted a thousand tears on me**

The singer has a beautiful voice, she noted. He sounds very sincere and heartfelt too. She wonders if the song is dedicated to anyone.

That voice sounds quite familiar though...too familiar.

**But something was missing and I'm regretting it tonight**

Sakura wonders if...no, impossible.

He does have the potential to become big. But his debut song can't be something like this- she lets out a scoff - right?

She remembers how he wrote his own songs...

**Pushing you away**

They were cute songs, though! Other songs - they were happy...

She's never seen him write something sad and solemn like this.

...but his voice...it was unmistakably beautiful.

**I know you don't believe me, but I just wanna say**

With a gasp, Sakura noticed her sewing was veering off the path she had drawn on the cloth. Putting down the fabric with a sigh, she rested her chin in the palm of her left hand. Sakura decided she'll focus on the lyrics. It seems to be distracting her anyway.

**I remember conversations, before you give up on me**  
><strong>Well if it's any consolation, I remember everything<strong>  
><strong>And you can't take that. No, you can't take that away.<strong>**  
><strong>

_November 26th, The Year Before._

_"I'm sure a turtle would be fine."_

_She laughed - he was so cute! She loved sitting on the rooftop and talking with her boyfriend until they get tired. Sometimes they might even watch the sun rise._

_Though he probably had no idea why she was laughing, he smiled with her. He had accepted the fact that his girlfriend laughs at everything - it's not so bad, he loves her laugh, but sometimes...he just doesn't feel so special any more when some other guy makes her laugh._

_As the laughter died down, she looked up at the stars. It was breathtaking._

_"You know they're just balls of helium and hydrogen floating around light years away..."_

_Sakura turned to her boyfriend with a pout, "you ruin everything!"_

_He smiled at her tauntingly, "I know." _

_Speaking of years..."What do you think about the future?" She wondered out loud._

_She could feel him looking at her. "The future?" He repeated._

_"Yeah," She replied lightly, "you know, are we gonna be more than just..." she shrugs._

_He waited._

_She looked at him, "Like, get married...or I don't- I don't know."_

_He looks back at the stars thoughtfully, almost as if asking the stars what his girlfriend was thinking about._

_She follows and also stares at the stars without really seeing._

_After a moment of silence, she restarts, "Do we have a future?"_

_Finally deeming it appropriate to speak, her boyfriend replied, "Well...I was thinking, I mean, we can do ten kids. I wouldn't mind."_

_Laughing, Sakura slapped her boyfriend on the shoulder again, "Syaoran!"_

_Her laughter fills the night, and as they continue talking about the future, Sakura thought about the past. She reminisced about how much Syaoran's changed, for the better. He used to be so mean and cold! Whenever she'd see him smiling or being polite with a stranger, she'd be so proud._

**You were the one saved me and you can't take that away**

_January 8th, Present Year._

_"I'm sorry."_

_His own voice continued ringing in his mind as he sat on a bench alone at exactly 11:45pm. It was the bench they'd sit when they went to the park and got ice cream._

_As much as he tried, he couldn't help but go back to the events of the day._

_"How silly of me to think we were gonna have a future." She had said with a bitter laugh._

_That was the one laugh Syaoran didn't like. At all._

_"It's okay." She sounds defeated._

_"I-it's not your fault." He doesn't know what to say to make her understand._

_"I understand."_

_She doesn't! "No- it's me, okay? You - it's not...I just- I can't-" Syaoran rubbed his face with the palm of his right hand, restarting, "it's not you, alright? It's me." Why was it so hard for him to talk?_

_"That's what they all say, Syaoran." _

_ "I...Sakura..." He doesn't know what to say._

_She turns away, "...goodbye, Syaoran." __He remembered thinking, would that be the last time she'd say his name?_

_If this was a movie, he'd be yelling at the screen, "why'd you let her go, man? Bad move. See? Now she's gone forever." But as he replayed that moment in his head, he realized there was nothing that could bring her back - he had decided that they weren't gonna work out. He felt defeated then, and he still feels defeated now._

**They turned off the street lights, before I could say goodbye**  
><strong>Cause I was a lost cause <strong>  
><strong>So if you are listening, I'm regretting it tonight<strong>  
><strong>Maybe it's too late<strong>  
><strong>But if you ever could belive me, I just wanna say<strong>

_February 14th, Present Year._

_Sakura stared at her TV._

_blahblah_

_Unbeknowest to young Sakura, her ex-boyfriend is also thinking about her that day. Seemingly unable to get her off his mind, he decided to let it all out in his sanctuary; music._

**I remember conversations, before you give up on me**  
><strong>Well if it's any consolation, I remember everything<strong>  
><strong>And you can't take that. No, you can't take that away.<strong>  
><strong>You were the one saved me and you can't take that away<strong>

_July 8th, The Year Before._

_Syaoran was ecstatic as he stood outside Sakura's apartment door after his second knock. Syaoran being ecstatic was saying something, but he had knock twice? Unbelievable._

_Girls. He'll never understand them. He already told Sakura that he didn't care if her mouth was oozing with toothpaste, or she had bed hair, or no makeup, she was beautiful. End of story._

_Sounds cheesy, but, well, he's an impatient man, and it was that second date of theirs where he had to wait outside for about five minutes. Let's just say he wasn't very happy when she opened the door. But her appearance and sorry smile alone melted him, so it was all good. (And then her fifty billion apologies pissed him off a second time because he had already said it was okay - but then a soft kiss to the cheek made it all okay again.)_

_Syaoran tapped his right foot impatiently and lifted his right hand, ready for a third knock, when Tomoyo opened the door._

_Merely giving his girlfriend's best friend a glance of acknowledgment, he looked behind her for any sign of his girlfriend. The something hit him, metaphorically and mentally, and he glanced back, "whoa, Tomoyo Daidouji!"_

_With a "thank you for finally noticing me" smile, Tomoyo twirled._

_"Looking good for your first date. Who's the lucky man?"_

_"Thanks, and actually, it's your best friend."_

_Syaoran's jaw dropped."Really?" Small world, indeed._

_Seeing that his girlfriend has finally decided to show up, bed hair and all, he addressed her immediately, "hey, love, guess what? Our best friends are dating each other."_

_Sakura merely replied with a nod interrupted by a yawn._

_Tomoyo looked back and forth between the two, then commented, "That's really cute."_

_Syaoran shrugged, "No, actually, it's weird because I'm the talkative one and she's the quiet one."_

_Tomoyo smiled, and reiterated, "very cute."_

_Deciding not to entertain her, Syaoran asked instead, "May I come in?"_

_"Oh!" Tomoyo moved away from the door, "Yeah, of course. And there's my date- have fun, cuties!"_

_Syaoran made a face at the door as it closed._

_"Men don't like being called cute, huh?" came the voice of his girlfriend from behind._

_He turned around, finding her leaning by the kitchen entrance, he approached her, putting the package down on a table as he passed by, "no. At least I don't. I feel less manly when I'm called cute."_

_She straightened up, just in time for him to stop less than a centimeter in front of her. "You're cute." She smiled teasingly._

_Unoffended, Syaoran rather found his girlfriend the cute one. Unable to stop himself, he leaned in for a kiss. _

_Which would've turned into a make out session if she hadn't stopped his hand from reaching up her shirt. "Do you want some food?"_

_Syaoran only paused long enough to say,"I think you're enough." _

_"You're cute." Sakura says again. _

_Syaoran merely leaned in for another kiss._

_Thirty minutes later, the couple found themselves seated across each other at the dinner table eating instant noodles._

_"So." Sakura paused to slurp some noodles, "did you miss me already?"_

_Without even giving it much thought, her boyfriend answered, "yes."_

_Before Sakura could say "You're cute" again, he continued, "and I came to give you something." He stood up, "Hold on."_

_Sakura waited excitedly._

_"So I was going to follow the trend and bring you to a fancy restaurant, but you just woke up." Syaoran says as he walks in with a package tucked under his arm. "Which is weird because it's 7 pm. Did you have a busy morning?"_

_Sakura smiled, "something like that."_

_Syaoran nodded, and continued, "So I got you this." Handing her package._

_Curiously, Sakura opened it slowly, gasping when it revealed a Tiffany & Co. box. "Oh my God, Syaoran!"_

_Syaoran shrugged, "open it."_

_So his girlfriend did, and her jaw dropped._

_He loved watching her expressions when she opened his presents. He loved getting her stuff, period._

_And then comes the part where she tried to refuse his presents. But of course, it's non-negotiable.__"Syaoran!" she says as he puts the necklace on her. _

_"Yes?"_

_"You got me - what? What occasion is this? Our anniversary is two months away, it's not my birthday, it's not christmas - it's July Eighth!" She turns around to face him._

_Syaoran shrugged again. "I love you."_

_"Aww!" She squeals and jumps, wrapping her legs around his waist, and her arms around his neck, giving him a full appreciation kiss._

_Another part of giving presents that Syaoran absolutely loved, was the appreciation kiss._

_"Thank you." Sakura says when they broke apart._

_Later that evening, Tomoyo was seated on Sakura's bed recapping, "wait, so he got you a present randomly in the middle of summer because...he loves you?"_

_Sakura grinned, "yeah!"_

_Tomoyo squealed, "THAT'S SO CUTE! Why do you get the cutest guy ever!"_

_Sakura shrugged, "I must've done something right."_

_Tomoyo paused, "wait I know. It's because YOU'RE SO CUTE!"_

_Sakura laughed but didn't believe it herself._

**I remember conversations and if it's any consolation**  
><strong>I remember conversations, before you give up on me<strong>  
><strong>And if it's any consolation, I remember everything<strong>  
><strong>And you can't take that. No, you can't take that<strong>  
><strong>You can't that. No, you can't take that away<strong>  
><strong>You were the one who saved me.<strong>  
><strong>And you can't that away<strong>

April 6th, continued.

"And that's Can't Take Away from The Friday Night Boys' debut album live. We had an interview with the lead singer here, Syaoran Li,"

Sakura's right hand flew to her mouth, it _was_ him!

There was a far away, "oh" then some shuffling and a closer, "Hi."

It had been so long since she heard his voice.

"And we haven't finished." Continued the DJ.

There was a vague "oh we haven't?" which the DJ ignored.

"So this is song...it's dedicated to somebody, and uh, what's her name?"

There was a pregnant pause, then Syaoran voice came through, "I don't..."

"Really, it's okay. Maybe she's listening to you right now. What's her name?"

Another indecisive pause, it seems, then, "She's, uh...SakuraKinomoto."

Sakura screamed. It was her first reaction, and it wasn't a quite a fangirl kind of scream, more like a combination of surprise and horror...and a tid bit of giddiness. He had said her name! What horrified her was the fact that it was on public radio station. But, he had said her name!

"Sakura Kinomoto!" The DJ repeated, "you lucky girl! You've captured the heart of lead singer Syaoran Li, in The Friday Night Boys, whose debut album topped the charts within the first week."

Her best friend ran in the room in response to her scream. Tomoyo's "What? What happened?" went unnoticed as Sakura frantically searched for her phone under the piles of fabric and - oh, it was in her drawer all along.

"Well, Syaoran, I hope you make up with her, man, she sounds pretty special."

Quickly dialing the number of the radio station, she waited with bated breath as the phone rang, finally acknowledging her best friend's presence with a wave. Her best friend, a little confused, decided to take the chair in front of her.

"Uh...yeah, she-she is." Came from the radio. There was millisecond pause and a more firm, "she is."

Syaoran got up and away from the microphone. His first-ish interview and it was already getting personal.

He barely heard the DJ say, "oh, looks like we got a phone call in response to the song. Hey, what's up?"

As he was about to leave, he heard, "...Sakura. Is Syaoran there?"

He stopped dead in his tracks, and almost instantly - the DJ didn't even have to call him back - he was next to the microphone, "Sakura?"

If Syaoran hadn't been so focused on her voice he would've noticed the DJ backing off and smiling.

"Syaoran!" there was a pause.

Unsure of whether or not he should go for it, he went ahead and replied, "yeah?" Seeming to finally realize he was still standing, he sat down hastily.

"You said my name on the public radio!"

Syaoran laughed, while the rest of the listeners and the DJ furrowed their eyebrows.

Sakura voice continued, "You promised you wouldn't because-"

"Because I wanted to keep you out of the eye of the paparazzi-"

Sakura cut in, "And I was gonna be your dirty little secret."

Syaoran smiled softly. "Yeah." The DJ sighed to himself, if only he had someone to smile like that to.

There was a pause then a gasp, "and we're still on public radio!"

Syaoran chuckled, "good, 'cause I wanna ask you something."

"Yes, Syaoran?" He could tell in her voice that she was smiling.

He took a deep breath, "I know we haven't talked since...we haven't talked in a while. And this is probably going to embarrass the male population but...I admit it. I've missed you, a lot. You already know this, but I wrote that song for you. It's true, every single word. I want to ask you...would you be my girlfriend, again?"

There was a gasp on the other end, and, "I...what? No!"

Syaoran's jaw dropped, while the DJ turned away, barely able to contain a sympathetic, "oooh, cold."

Syaoran tried to save his dignity on the public radio by replying, "okay...maybe I should've have asked this on the public radio..."

"Hey we haven't talked since - and all of the sudden you ask me to be your girlfriend? On the radio? You're unbelievable, Syaoran."

"I'm only unbelievable for you." It slipped out of his mouth, he swears.

"Syaoran, that's cute- but focus. Really." She could almost feel all the females listening to the radio station "aww"ing. One "Aww" in particular seems to be right in front of her. But she paid no heed.

"Okay, how about we take it slowly. Do you forgive me?"

Almost instantly she replied, "yes."

Relieved, he smiled, "Okay. I'll see you soon."

"What-you're coming now?"

Syaoran replied almost immediately, "Yeah."

Pressing end call dreamily. Sakura couldn't believe it, he's coming over! RIGHT NOW!

"And Sakura?" There was a questionable pause then a far away, "did she hang up already? Oh well." He continued, "Sakura Kinomoto. I'd like you to know that I never stopped loving you."

Tomoyo screams with Sakura. How is it that her best friend gets the cutest guy ever?

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><p><span>note.<span> Haha Syaoran is so cute and cheesy! I only write guys like this because I wish there are guys like that in the real world. Should I make a sequel or leave it to your imagination?


End file.
